Our list of top 20 Arab social media stars

Some of the most successful Arab social media trailblazers.

Below is a list compiled by our editorial team that features some of the most successful social media trailblazers in the Arab world.

The StepFeed team has chosen to commend these 20 innovative cyber stars for their ingenuity, ambition, and willingness to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most.

20. Dorra Zarrouk, actress (Tunisia)

With more than 5.2 million followers on Facebook, Dorra Zarrouk is an immensely popular Tunisian actress.

She started out as a model but later joined a theater acting troop. After some time, she made her television debut, starring in various series. She went on to take roles in Egypt, even acting alongside the legendary Omar Sharif in the 2010 film Al Mosafer.

Zarrouk has also appeared in numerous Syrian productions in addition to her work in Egypt and Tunisia.

19. Hala Al Turk, singer (Bahrain)

The young singer first stole our hearts back in 2011, when she was just 8 years old, after appearing in the popular TV show Arabs Got Talent. Since then, Al-Turk has signed with Platinum Recordsand released several hit songs, making a name for herself in show business.

The music video for her song Happy Happy, which was first released in 2013, has been viewed well over 250 million times on YouTube.

With her uplifting music, Al-Turk has established a huge fan base and a wide social media following, with over 610,000 likes on Facebook and 2.2 million followers on Instagram.

18. Amani Yahya, rapper and women's right activist (Yemen)

Amani Yahya, Yemen's first-ever female rapper, uses rhythm to shed light on the struggles faced by women in her war-torn country and the region in general, including child marriage and sexual harassment.

The 24-year-old has taken the world by storm, with her name making several international headlines.

Despite facing negative reactionsfrom within the conservative Yemeni society, Yahya pursued her musical ambitions and made it all the way to the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival in 2015.

She had fled Yemen with her family and moved to Saudi Arabia, where she went to school, and later returned to Yemen to study dentistry.

17. Njoud Al Shammari, lifestyle and comedy vlogger (Saudi Arabia)

The 22-year-old is considered one of the most influential female YouTubers in the Saudi kingdom with over 1.2 million subscribers. With a vibrant and perky personality, Al-Shammari creates light and relatable videos that range from comedy to tips and fun tutorials.

Al-Shammari has been featured in YouTube's new Batala channel, an online hub dedicated to Arabic content produced by females.

Last year, she was ranked as the most influential Saudi woman on YouTube by online video intelligence company, Tubular Labs.

16. Karter Zaher, rapper (Lebanon)

Karter Zaher got his start by releasing music videos rapping and singing about Islamic themes on YouTube and Facebook. His music became a hit and his following grew rapidly.

Since the Lebanese-Canadian teamed up with fellow believer Jae Deen, the two have reached global fame. Zaher now has more than a million followers on his official Facebook page and nearly 80,000 on Twitter.

15. Dena Takruri, journalist and on-air presenter (Palestine)

Palestinian-American Dena Takruri is a journalist, on-air presenter, and producer at AJ+ based in San Francisco, California.

The young journalist began her broadcast career in 2007 as a co-host and producer on a satellite television program called "What's Happening" that aired on Arab Radio and Television Network (ART).

She later worked as a research assistant with Dr. Rochelle Davis of Georgetown University. Takruri is currently a Senior Presenter and Producer at AJ+, an all digital video news network owned by Al Jazeera Media.

She is considered one of the first journalists to ever use Facebook Live as a reporting tool while covering the refugee crisis in Europe (September 2015).

14. Amrou Al-Kadhi, writer/filmmaker/performer (Iraq)

Referring to himself as a queer Iraqi Brit, Amrou Al-Kadhi is a writer, filmmaker, and performer. He has written for The Independent, The i-Paper, i-D Magazine, Hunger Magazine, CNN, and HUCK Magazine.

He currently has several short films and TV shows in various stages of production. Al-Kadhi's first short film, Nightstand, screened at festivals around the world. In an op-ed earlier this year, Al-Kadhi pointed out that, as an actor, he has been asked to play a terrorist more than 30 times and he's only 26 years old.

While Al-Kadhi writes a great deal about Islamophobia and stereotypes surrounding Arabs in the West, he also raises his voice for issues important to the LGBTIQ community. As a queer Arab, he lives at the intersection of both of these marginalized communities.

Regularly performing in drag, Al-Kadhi challenges stereotypes and misconceptions through his performances and writing.

Al Falasi is famous for hosting the ‘Taim Show’, a wildly popular online radio program in the region, rated as the most played on spreaker.com, an interactive podcasting platform.

She is also a successful internet filmmaker, vlogger, and celebrity interviewer who has previously worked as part of the Dubai International Film Festival’s (DIFF) production team.

The Sheikh Zayed University visual communications graduate often shares snippets of her life, work, and travels with 2.4 million followers on Instagram, and over half a million YouTube subscribers.

With millions of views across several social media platforms, she is considered one of the most influential online stars in the GCC.

12. Buthaina Al Raisi, actress, fashion designer, entrepreneur (Oman)

Al Raisi is an Omani actress, fashion designer, and entrepreneur, famous across Gulf countries.

Other than being one of the most prominent Omani actresses of her generation, Al Raisi is also the entrepreneur and fashion designer behind the brand ‘Beeba World.’

With a massive following across various social media platforms, including Instagram, where she has over 4.2 million followers, Al Raisi is considered one of the most influential people on social media in the Arab world.

10. Laila Hzaineh, feminist vlogger (Jordan)

Laila Hzaineh is a Jordanian-Palestinian feminist who has been challenging societal norms in the Arab world using social media - specifically video.

As a video blogger, Hzaineh courageously tackles issues women in the region are often faced with: sexism, harassment, and the unspoken truth about domestic violence.

The 20-year-old first began making headlines after a video she posted on social media went viral. The video was a response to a man who suggested that women bring sexual harassment onto themselves through the clothes they wear.

Hzaineh's videos are mainly posted to her Facebook profile, where she has over 13,000 followers.

She is also the founder of BetaChangemakers, a social enterprise that aims at enhancing the lives of Moroccan students through art programs and encouraging creative approaches in educational institutes.

In recognition of her work, Touisatte won the award for Best Female Blogger at the Maroc Web Awards in 2012.

6. Ascia AKF, fashion blogger (Kuwait)

With over 2 million followers on Instagram, Ascia AKF is considered one of the most prominent fashion bloggers in Kuwait.

The mother of two is the co-founder of The Hybrids, a fashion blog. Her partner in blogging is non-other than her husband Ahmad ASB.

She often collaborates with the most prestigious fashion/beauty brand names in the region and is also the entrepreneur behind the successful brand Desert Baby Kuwait.

Her liveliness, humility, and warmth transcend through the snippets that she shares from her daily life. She also often uses social media platforms, including YouTube, to connect with working mothers to discuss common struggles.

Emirati opinion writer, motivational speaker, and social media commentator Khalid Al Ameri is trying to change the world through the power of the word.

Al Ameri is known for writing about social issues - including dreams, marriage, and relationships - by depicting everyday struggles he himself goes through.

"I love helping people follow their dreams, better their lives, and shape their careers, not because I know any better than them, but because I’m on that journey too. So, by sharing my moments of success and failure, I‘m simply saying here is how I’m doing things, and maybe they can help you," Al Ameri writes on his website.

Al Ameri has over 51,000 followers on Twitter, over 67,000 followers on Facebook and over 85,000 on Instagram.

4. Fahad Albutairi, stand-up comedian, and actor (Saudi Arabia)

Dubbed by the Washington Post as the "Seinfeld of Saudi Arabia," Fahad Albutairi is widely known for his sense of humor and for being the first Saudi stand-up comedian to appear on stage professionally in the kingdom.

Having first taken the stage as a student at the University of Texas, Austin, back in 2007, Albutairi has come a long way since then.

He is currently a renowned YouTube personality and actor with over 1 million subscribers to his channel "La Yekthar."

He also has over 2.8 million followers on Twitter, 103,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 150,000 likes on Facebook.

3. Laila Mourad, lifestyle vlogger (Lebanon)

Laila Mourad is a Lebanese-Canadian vlogger who launched a Youtube channel back in 2015 after graduating from the Lebanese American University in Beirut and moving back to Saudi Arabia (where her family is based).

At first, Mourad filmed videos about weight loss and workout routines but later expanded into documenting her daily life and travels.

She also often shares Q&A’s and challenges with her followers. Her Youtube channel gained substantial attention in a relatively short period of time. She currently has over 600,000 subscribers and a total of 16.2 million views on the platform.

2. Amr Maskoun, comedy vlogger (Syria)

Videos of the young Syrian accurately impersonating Arab moms have probably popped up on your timeline over the past couple of years.

Boasting over one million likes on his Facebook page and garnering millions of views on YouTube, the 18-year-old has won people's hearts with videos that are both hilarious and relatable.

Maskoun started off on Vine after he fled to France, defying the struggle of leaving his war-torn country. He decided to create videos "to cheer people up" and "change their moods," he told Being Arab.

"I realized that I’m not the only one [...] suffering because of the bad news we’re hearing everyday."

In his videos, he pokes fun at everything Arab-related, from traditions to Arab mom quirks.

1. Adeela (Lebanon)

Adeela is currently one of the most popular satirical social media pages in the Arab world.

Its star? An anonymous admin who reacts/comments on happenings across the region through a fictional, Arabized version of British mega star Adele.

Often sharing memes and hilarious dubbed videos of the singer’s live performances and interviews, the page has grown in popularity. In less than two years, it has garnered over 600,000 followers on Facebook alone.